2K today announced Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the executive soundtrack producer for WWE 2K18.
The 11 songs featured in the 2K18 soundtrack were all chosen by The Rock from his favorite artists and music genres, including hip-hop, classic rock, hard rock, blues, R&B and soul. 2K has also partnered with Apple Music as the premier streaming provider for the WWE 2K18 in-game soundtrack.
“Music is one of my soul’s anchors,” said Johnson. “All genres. I’m excited to celebrate my WWE roots by partnering with the 2K and Apple Music teams and share some of my favorite hardcore training songs with fans all over the world.”
In a tweet later on by The Rock, he joked that many of his songs were not cleared due to “that explicit language thing” but he had fun putting his personal training tracks together for the game.
The WWE 2K18 official soundtrack includes songs from Blues Brothers, Boston, Bruno Mars, Disturbed, Easy-E, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Joe Walsh, Kanye West, Kid Rock, ¡MAYDAY!, and Tech N9ne.
SummerSlam 2017 is just around the bend! Sunday, August 20th event will be loaded with high-flying talent and heavy-hitters, unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time! With such a huge card of talented wrestlers, it gets exceedingly difficult to predict who will walk away as champions.
If you want to get an idea of which WWE superstars will win, a great place to start is by having a look at the real betting markets to see who is favored. You can research these odds on trusted sites like Bovada & 5Dimes. So, let’s have a look at the odds as of today and see if we can’t decipher who will be holding the mic and spitting their animated rhetoric and who’ll be crawling away down the main aisles in defeat.
The Fatal 4-Way
There have been rumors abound that Brock Lesnar isactually penciled in to walk away with the win over Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman. But is there any truth to this supposed leak? I really doubt there has been any legitimate leak … because sportsbooks are known to pull their betting lines as soon as a storyline is verified as being leaked out to the public on Reddit or other forums. However, the odds do coincide with a Lesnar victory. Here are the odds:
Brock Lesnar Wins Fatal 4-Way Match -280
Field Wins Fatal 4-way match +200
Samoa Joe Wins Fatal 4-Way Match +300
Field Wins Fatal 4-way match -99999
Roman Reigns Wins Fatal 4-Way +800
Field Wins Fatal 4-way match -99999
Braun Stroman Wins Fatal 4-Way +1100
Field Wins Fatal 4-way match -99999
Inherent value
So, what does this all add up to? Well, for those of you who are new to reading betting odds, a MINUS (-) sign designates the amount of money you would have to bet to win $100. Conversely, a PLUS (+) sign designates how much you would potentially win by betting $100 dollars. Though it should be noted that any dollar amount can be used.
Looking at the numbers laid out for the Fatal 4-Way match we see Lesnar as a clear favorite, coming in at -280 (wager $280 to win $100) and I really can’t imagine any other outcome. Jon “Bones” Jones just called out Brock Lesnar after his victory against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 … and you have to think that raising Lesnar’s stock is in the WWE’s interest. Even Jon Jones pointed out that he is aware that Lesnar could be using him as leverage in contract negotiations.
“I could see it being a leverage point to get paid the bigger bucks to stick around (with WWE) or come over to the UFC. Either way, I think it would be great if he comes over to the UFC to get a gigantic payday, probably his biggest UFC payday. Now he has this as a leverage point from whichever direction he decides to go in. Good for Brock to have options.” – Jon Jones via MMA Junkie
Either way, what seems to be best for both brands is Brock Lesnar being the Universal Champion.
SummerSlam Prediction: Brock Lesnar Wins Fatal 4-Way match (-280)
WWE Women’s Championship: Banks vs. Bliss
Sasha Banks defeated Alexa Bliss recently in the Great Balls of Fire event. However, Banks did not finish Bliss in the ring, winning only by a 10-second count-out, thus not taking the title from Bliss.
The oddsmakers at 5Dimes have listed both WWE divas at -120, giving equal opportunity to both women. To continue in the vein of the drama of rematches and rivalry, you have to think that Bliss gets a sneaky win in SummerSlam and retains the title. It won’t be a superior victory … they’ll want to keep us waiting and ready for an any-given-Sunday type rematch with trade-off wins.
SummerSlam Prediction: Alexa Bliss (-120)
WWE Championship: Mahal vs. Nakamura
This match intrigues me! The lines clearly favor Shinsuke Nakamura but the general consensus seems to be that Nakamura as the Champion this quickly would be devastatingly bad for the WWE brand.
Jinder Mahal +250
Shinsuke Nakamura -350
Neither of these two was on anyone’s radar just a couple of years ago. But in just what seems like a few months, both have blasted through the ranks of SmackDown. It’s difficult to think that Jinder Mahal can beat the guy who recently bested Cena, but I believe the WWE is building this one up for a surprise plot twist and let down. The ‘unthinkable’ happens and the dog has his day.
SummerSlam Prediction: take the Underdog, Jinder Mahal (+250)
The 13th – and presumably final – match has been added to the loaded SummerSlam card featuring a six-man tag team match.
The match – between The Hardy Boyz and Jason Jordan vs The Miz, Curtis Axel, and Bo Dallas – will be part of the Kickoff show. The Hardy Boyz were originally scheduled to take on The Revival but an injury to Scott Dawson kicked Matt and Jeff off the pay-per-view card.
This will be one of the three matches on the Kickoff show, joining Akira Tozawa vs Neville for the Cruiserweight title and The Usos vs The New Day for the Smackdown Tag Team titles.
Jim Cornette made a surprise return last night during the live Destination X themed Impact show, his second stint with the company.
Cornette came out in the second segment of the show and immediately fired Bruce Prichard. Prichard had just moments earlier announced that El Patron was no longer the champion and was giving the title to Bobby Lashley.
The former manager had other ideas though, and told everyone that he has been hired by Global Force Wrestling and instructed security to escort Prichard out. His first order of business was the announce a 20-man gauntlet battle royal for next week’s broadcast with the winner being crowned the new GFW World champion.
Cornette originally started working for TNA back in 2006 as the company’s on-screen Management Director. His run ended in 2009 after several disagreements with TNA’s creative team, mainly Vince Russo. The two are mortal enemies and impossible to work with each other.
Global Force Wrestling unveiled photos of their new title belts which now feature the GFW logo.
The World, Tag Team, X-Division, and Women’s Knockout titles all received a makeover. All of them – except the World title – have silver plates while the main title gets the gold treatment. The Global Force Wrestling logo is very visible on the World, X-Division, and Knockout titles while a smaller version of the logo is on the Tag Team one.
It looks like the new belts will make their debut tonight on the live Destination X-themed Impact on POP. You can see all four new titles below.
Sports Illustrated is now reporting that Ric Flair had a part of his bowel removed during surgery this week after an intestinal blockage caused several of his organs to shut down, including his kidneys.
The original report by Dave Meltzer of the Observer stated that he underwent colon surgery, something that his fiancee yesterday denied in a post on Facebook. The report by Sports Illustrated, written by Justin Barrasso adds that Flair did not suffer a heart attack and the surgery was unrelated to heart issues.
The 16-time World champion is expected to remain in hospital for the next month if not more as the surgery had more complications, although at the end of the day it was deemed a successful one.
Despite the positive outcome, Flair remains in intensive care unit and his life is still in danger as other complications from his procedure might come up.
Former WWE champion Roman Reigns and former NXT and Raw Women’s champion Bayley will be appearing at the Wizard World Comic Con in Nashville, Tennessee.
Both Superstars will be appearing at the event, held at the Music City Center, on Sunday, September 10 and they will be posing for photos, sign autographs and hold an interactive Q&A with the fans. Reigns will appear from 10AM to 1PM while Bayley will be there from 11AM to 2PM.
For photos, Reigns will be $65 and Bayley $55. An autograph from Reigns will cost an additional $55 while the same from Bayley is priced $25. There will also be Gold VIP packages, with Reigns priced at $349 and Bayley at $299.
VIP packages include a 3-day pass to Wizard World Nashville, reserved front section seating during the Q&A panel, an exclusive WWE VIP gift bag, VIP check-in and Reigns/Bayley badge, VIP lounge access, and other perks. VIP packages include the photo and autograph as well in the price.
GFW star Tyrus posted a video on his Instagram bashing his employer for treating him like a “second-class citizen” creatively and will not show up for tapings this week.
The artist formerly known as Brodus Clay in WWE said that his mentor Dusty Rhodes once told him that the wrestling business is like a canvas, and he is the artist. He explained that he’s been with Impact for the past three years and the memories are mostly positive, however, the past four or five television tapings were terrible for him, saying he felt handcuffed and treated like a second-class citizen.
Tyrus added that he feels he earned his way of getting something better and he’s not happy with the way they’ve been booking him creatively, announcing he’s on “hold-out status” and won’t be at Impact tapings this week unless things change.
Brie and Nikki Bella appeared on PodcastOne’s From The Top Rope podcast to discuss a variety of subjects, including having an interesting discussion about Daniel Bryan’s in-ring future.
Brie seemed adamant that her husband will eventually return to the ring one way or another, although not necessarily with the WWE. She explained how she reminded him that he now has a daughter that he has to take care of but if the doctors tell him it’s safe to get back in the ring, then, “you have one life to live and I will never hold you back.”
She encouraged Bryan that if WWE won’t allow him, then he has to find somewhere else. “Obviously, he would love to be able to get back in that WWE ring. But I know for a fact my husband is going to find his way back to the ring,” she said.
The former WWE champion last wrestled at an overseas tour in April 2015 in a tag team match along with John Cena against Cesaro and Tyson Kidd. He was forced to retire after WWE’s chief medical doctor Dr. Joseph Maroon did not want to clear him to return.
Bryan had to surrender the WWE title and the Intercontinental title shortly after winning them at WrestleMania XXX and WrestleMania 31 respectively due to his problems.
The Smackdown General Manager often said that he would find an alternative place once his contract is up if WWE does not let him get back in the squared circle.
SummerSlam week has turned into somewhat of a mini-WrestleMania week, with several activities held in the area leading up to the big pay-per-view event.
All WWE Superstars are in Brooklyn already, most of who will be participating in community-related events such as the Be A STAR campaign, meet and greets with fans at different stores, and other events.
Brooklyn is hosting its third SummerSlam in a row, with WWE bringing NXT Takeover: Brooklyn, Raw, and Smackdown to the city as well. The city has been confirmed to host next year’s event as well.
Global Force Wrestling will be taping several weeks worth of Impact starting tonight with a live-to-tape Destination X-themed Impact.
Tapings will run through August 22 with one taping each day starting at 6PM EST. All tapings will be held at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida at the Impact Zone.
Tonight’s live show will address the situation with the GFW World title, which was stripped off Alberto El Patron earlier this week. El Patron remains suspended and will not be part of these tapings.
Announced for tonight are Matt Sydal vs. Lashley, Trevor Lee vs Sonjay Dust in a ladder match, Gail Kim vs Sienna for the Knockouts title, and Taiji Ishimori vs Dezmond Xavier in the Super X Cup finals.
This week’s Smackdown, the final WWE broadcast before SummerSlam, did 2,530,000 viewers, down 54,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. Smackdown was #4 overall in viewership and #1 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Ric Flair’s fiancee, Wendy Barlow, posted an update on Flair on her Facebook page, denying the reports by Dave Meltzer that he had colon surgery. Barlow said that he had a different kind of surgery, but did not specify which.
Barlow slammed the media for coming up with that news, saying she doesn’t know how they come up with these stories.
“I took Ric to the hospital Friday night with severe abdominal pain. From that moment on it all seems like a nightmare…multiple organ problems,” she wrote. “Not to go into too many details, I want everyone to know he still needs prayers as he is still in critical condition.”
Barlow, who worked with Ric in WCW as Fifi the Maid, added that she has been by his side since Friday and will continue to make sure he gets the best care possible.
WWE and the Nine Network announced an agreement to broadcast weekly one-hour versions of Raw and Smackdown in Australia on Nine Network channel 9Go!. Starting this week, 9Go! will televise a one-hour edition of Raw on Thursdays at 11PM and a one-hour edition of Smackdown on Fridays immediately following the conclusion of 9Go!’s Friday Night Movie.
“We are thrilled to add another best-in-class TV partner to our roster in Australia to deliver content to our fans,” said Michelle Wilson, WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer. “Our partnership with Nine Network enables us to expand our reach in Australia and complements our live programming in the region.”
In addition to this new agreement with Nine Network, WWE recently announced it will extend its partnership with Foxtel to broadcast WWE programming live in Australia. Foxtel’s FOX8 televises Raw live on Tuesdays from 10AM to 1PM and Smackdown live on Wednesdays from 10AM to Noon.
The first 47 WWE Superstars who will be part of the WWE 2K18 video game were revealed by IGN in a video hosted by Corey Graves and Renee Young.
The new names in alphabetical order are: Akira Tozawa, Alexander Wolfe, Andre the Giant, Bam Bam Bigelow, Baron Corbin, Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Bret Hart, Brie Bella, Buddy Roberts, Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Diamond Dallas Page, Dolph Ziggler, Dusty Rhodes, Eric Young, Erick Rowan, Emma, Goldust, Jinder Mahal, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Mark Henry, Hideo Itami, Kalisto, Kane, Kevin Nash, Killian Dain, Lita, Luke Harper, Nikki Bella, Nikki Cross, Paige, Sami Zayn, Sawyer Fulton, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Summer Rae, The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor), The Big Boss Man, The Big Show, The British Bulldog, The Bushwhackers (Butch & Luke) and The Undertaker.
They join Seth Rollins and Kurt Angle who have been previously announced. Doing commentary for WWE 2K18 will be Michael Cole, Byron Saxton, and Corey Graves.
Former WWE Divas champion Paige attended the Malik Rose Bowl Tournament at Bowl and Barrel at the Rim in San Antonio and the local CBS affiliate KENS 5 was on hand to cover the event.
KENS 5’s reporter Chelsey Hernandez caught up with the WWE Superstar to ask her when she will be back on television. “Hopefully within the next couple of months, fingers crossed,” Paige said. “Now I have to get cleared by WWE doctors.”
Paige had a turbulent year with the WWE, first getting suspended twice for Wellness Program violations in August and October of last year and then her relationship with Alberto El Patron was constantly in the news for all the wrong reasons. She underwent a much-needed neck surgery and then to make matters worse, several of her naked photos and adult videos were published on the Internet.
WWE Studios along with The Rock’s production company Seven Bucks are producing a movie based on her family. Filming has been completed and the movie has been said to have saved her WWE career considering her whacky behavior over the past few months.
Deadline.com is reporting that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s production company Seven Bucks Productions will help produce a new movie which was acquired by Universal Pictures based on the hunt for Genhis Khan’s mysterious tomb.
The movie, written by Evan Spiliotopoulos (Beauty And The Beast, The Huntsman: Winter’s War) will be also produced by ImageMovers’ Jack Rapke and Jackie Levine. Seven Bucks Productions President Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia will be executive producers along with ImageMovers’ Robert Zemeckis.
Johnson will not be part of the cast in this movie and will be only producing the flick. The former WWE champion enjoys a great relationship with Universal Pictures, having already worked for them with the Fast and the Furious franchise and the upcoming spinoff with him and Jason Statham.
Seven Bucks Productions has been slowly gaining traction in Hollywood and its involved in pretty much all the movies that Johnson is part of.
Baron Corbin became the third individual to unsuccessfully cash-in his Money In The Bank briefcase after he failed last night thanks to some interference from John Cena.
The cash-in was rumored to be happening sometime at SummerSlam but Corbin tried to take advantage of a fallen Jinder Mahal after his match against Cena on Smackdown. Corbin caused the disqualification after Cena seemingly had the match in his hands after an AA.
Before walking away, Corbin realized that Mahal was still down from a second rope AA and decided to cash in. With the fans going crazy and the referee waiting for Mahal to stand up to ring the bell, Cena came up on the apron for a distraction and was met with a right hand to the face, allowing enough time for Mahal to sneak up from behind and pin him with a roll-up.
Damien Sandow and John Cena are the other two WWE Superstars who failed to successfully cash-in their Money In The Bank briefcase since the gimmick’s inception in 2010.
Baron Corbin became the third individual to unsuccessfully cash-in his Money In The Bank briefcase after he failed last night thanks to some interference from John Cena.
The cash-in was rumored to be happening sometime at SummerSlam but Corbin tried to take advantage of a fallen Jinder Mahal after his match against Cena on Smackdown. Corbin caused the disqualification after Cena seemingly had the match in his hands after an AA.
Before walking away, Corbin realized that Mahal was still down from a second rope AA and decided to cash in. With the fans going crazy and the referee waiting for Mahal to stand up to ring the bell, Cena came up on the apron for a distraction and was met with a right hand to the face, allowing enough time for Mahal to sneak up from behind and pin him with a roll-up.
Damien Sandow and John Cena are the other two WWE Superstars who failed to successfully cash-in their Money In The Bank briefcase since the gimmick’s inception in 2010.
Highlight clips of both WWE Champion Jinder Mahal and John Cena play, hyping their match for tonight.
Arena Promo
The Singh Brothers welcome WWE champion Jinder Mahal; the announcers say it is Independence Day in India. The ring is decorated with a carpet and flower banners. “You people are nothing to celebrate, but for my people, today marks Independence Day of the greatest nation on Earth: the nation of India.” Mahal calls himself “the greatest WWE champion of all-time,” and brings out Indian dancers and musicians to commemorate their Independence Day. A woman is now in the ring who sings the Indian national anthem, and the celebration continues as the Singhs dance as well.
Jinder says that he will beat “your hero, John Cena,” and puts himself over. He also talks about his challenger for SummerSlam, Shinsuke Nakamura, and then talks in Punjabi. Shinsuke interrupts and, in short-order, proclaims that Sunday will be the day Mahal drops the title to him.
Later tonight, United States Champion A.J. Styles will apologize to Commissioner Shane McMahon for accidentally Pele-kicking him on last week’s Smackdown!; up next, Natalya wrestles Becky Lynch.
Commercials.
Tom Phillips, John “Bradshaw” Layfield, and Byron Saxton update us on Ric Flair’s health issues (real-life), saying that he had successful surgery yesterday (Monday) but is still in critical condition. They give him their best-wishes.
Match #1: Single – Becky Lynch VS. Natalya
(Note: Women’s Champion Naomi joins on commentary.)
They go back-and-forth to begin, and then Becky tries her Dis-Arm-Her, but Natalya escapes.
Commercials.
Natalya has Lynch locked in an abdominal stretch, but Becky works out of it and t-bone suplexes her! She tries the Dis-Arm-Her again, but Natalya turns it into a Sharpshooter attempt; Lynch gets out of that and later dives off of the top turnbuckle, but can’t land a legdrop! Nattie clamps on The Sharpshooter, forcing Becky to give-in.
Winner via Submission: Natalya
Post-match, Natalya attacks Becky some more, but Naomi runs in to save Lynch. Carmella – who has the Money In The Bank briefcase that guarantees her a title match – walks out to the stage with James Ellsworth; she reminds Naomi and Natalya of what she has and what she can do with it.
Commercials.
Locker Room Promo
Tamina is furious with Lana for not having a match tonight. Lana says it is because no one “fears” Tamina, but with her “ravishing” help, they will.
Office Promo
The Usos walk in to General Manager Daniel Bryan, wanting to know which members of Tag Team champions The New Day they will wrestle at SummerSlam. The GM tells them that Xavier Woods and Big E. will be their opponents while Kofi Kingston is in The New Day’s corner. Jimmy and Jay also want Kofi and Woods tonight for their attack on them last week. Bryan is happy to oblige.
Rusev makes his entrance for his match after the break.
Commercials.
Match #2: Single – Rusev VS. Chad Gable
They measure out and then Rusev hammers away in the corner on Gable. He goes for a clothesline, but ends up across the ring after Chad belly-to-belly suplexes him overhead. They go to the outside, where Rusev demolishes Gable, but the referee has counted to ten.
Winner: None due to Double Count-Out
Post-match, Rusev clutches on The Accolade (Camel Clutch) on top of the announce table. He then goes into the ring with a microphone and calls out “Randy,” but Orton suddenly slides in and plants him with an R.K.O.!
The announcers talk about SummerSlam and Takeover, and up next, A.J. Styles will be out!
Commercials.
Arena Promo
United States Champion A.J. Styles walks to the ring and take a microphone. He wants to chat with Commissioner McMahon for lat week’s actions. Shane answers and sums up A.J.’s Pele Kick as “inadvertent.” However, he warns Styles that if something like that occurs at SummerSlam while he is the special referee.
Kevin Owens – who takes on A.J. for the U.S. Title at SummerSlam – struts out. He is appreciative of McMahon’s thoughts and offers his hand for Shane, but The Commissioner declines to return the motion, as he deems it “inappropriate” since he is the referee. Instead, he tells Owens to shake Styles’ hand. Kevin and A.J. start shoving, which Shane breaks up. Styles punches but Owens moves and he almost hits McMahon, but is blocked. A.J. and Shane argue and Kevin superkicks, but the U.S. Champ movers and Shane is hit! Owens looks on shocked and walks away.
Commercials.
Match #3: Tag-Team – Tag-Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) (with Tag-Team Champion/New Day partner Big E.) VS. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) (Non-Title)
Kofi ducks a slug and kicks in the mid-section; Xavier and Kofi double-team for the first bit until the break.
Commercials.
The Usos are now in control until Kingston reverses and backdrops! He makes the hot-tag to Woods, who cleans house on Jimmy! New Day double-kick Jimmy but Jey stops the count. Kofi goes for his Trouble In Paradise spin-kick, and then they both go for their double-team finisher, but Jey stops it. Both Usos superkick Kofi and cover for the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: The Usos
Commercials.
Video Promo
“Fashion Peaks” is presented.
Commercials.
Match #4: Single – WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (with The Singh Brothers) VS. John Cena (Non-Title)
Jinder wants to engage in a “test-of-strength,” which Cena does to begin. Mahal forces John into the corner and then punches him; Samir hits Cena too, and then Jinder throws John to the floor.
Commercials.
Mahal measures John in the corner but misses a splash. Cena hits a shoulder-tackle and then the spin-out backdrop. He signals for the Five-Knuckle Shuffle and drops it, but The Singhs yank Jinder from the ring. They have interfered once too much, as Referee Mike Chioda orders them to the back. Mahal turns around into an STF but manages to crawl to the ropes for a break. John goes for the Attitude Adjustment, but Jinder fends him off and hits a high running-knee for two!
Mahal grapples on The Colasse, but Cena works out of it and plants him with an Attitude Adjustment! 1 – 2 – Mahal just raises his shoulder! Cena picks up Jinder and drives him to the canvas from the middle turnbuckle with another Attitude Adjustment! He covers, but Baron Corbin runs in with his Money In The Bank briefcase and stops the count, causing a dq.
Winner via Disqualification: John Cena
Post-match, Corbin attacks and then walks to the aisle, but looks back. He runs back in the ring and decides to cash in his Money In The Bank briefcase!
Match #5: Single for the WWE Championship – Jinder Mahal (Champion) (with The Singh Brothers) VS. Baron Corbin (Challenger)
Baron turns around and knocks John off of the apron, and then Mahal rolls up Corbin for the victory!
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: Jinder Mahal (with The Singh Brothers)
Post-match, Baron goes ballistic has he has technically lost his title match, and Cena and Mahal celebrate to close the show!
The final Raw before SummerSlam did 3,233,000 viewers, down 7,000 viewers from last week’s show.
Hour one started strong with 3,419,000 viewers, then went down to 3,293,000 viewers in the second hour, before crashing to 2,988,000 in the third and final hour. Raw lost 433,000 viewers from the first to the last hour. The main event featured the face-to-face between all four individuals in the WWE Universal title match.
The last hour of Raw dragged the overall number while the first hour was the strongest since the April 10 episode.
With pretty much everything on repeat on network TV and not much competition on cable, Raw was #1 overall in viewership and #1, #2, and #5 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
